First Build - need advice

May I ask why you're building your own? Or are you customizing a generic box (like a Dell)?

I've priced building my own PC from the box up and it's almost always more expensive to build it yourself than to buy a generic box (i.e., DELL). This is because the high volume manufacturers get deep price breaks on software - Microsoft gives Dell/Gateway/Acer huge discounts on the OS and Office. They also get PAID to put freeware/shareware on your box. I know it's a pain, but every new computer I get I spend probably a couple of hours removing the freeware off the box right after I open the box.

For most photo editing, even a PhotoShop user (it's a resource hog), a generic box will do fine if you add enough RAM. My newest box I even overdid it - 7 processors, 12GB RAM, terrabytes of disk space. I could edit video with this thing many times over and I just don't use the box's capability.

I did a lot of research and everything seemed to say build was cheaper with better quality components. I have been pricing out my build compared to Dell and my build with the OS is still cheaper. I also like the idea of having the discs verses dell already loading everything. At this point I have done so much on getting a build together it would have to take one heck of a deal to buy a generic box.

Perhaps so...I found for *me*, however, I was always upgrading everything...best processor, high amounts of RAM, expensive motherboard, etc. Sounds like you've done a lot of research so you'll do fine.

Photo318 wrote in post #11366723
I did a lot of research and everything seemed to say build was cheaper with better quality components. I have been pricing out my build compared to Dell and my build with the OS is still cheaper. I also like the idea of having the discs verses dell already loading everything. At this point I have done so much on getting a build together it would have to take one heck of a deal to buy a generic box.

My goal is to get it as "right" as possible so I won't have to upgrade. I tend to keep things a long time so I figure I won't be doing any upgrades soon - then again once I do a build maybe I will get "hooked". Thanks for asking though. It got me to give it one more thought to really make sure I was ready to build. I look forward to the challenge and hope I don't regret it!

Starting to place order. Between these two video cards which is better? http://www.newegg.com …t/Produc...82E1​6814130579 or how does this one compair? http://www.newegg.com …t/Produc...2022​0%201%20GB

tim wrote in post #11366304
I have software that uses video ram, "fast picture viewer" uses it for displaying pictures quickly for culling. For that use a 1GB graphics card is better than a 512MB graphics card, given the same processor.

Just buy a mid range nVidia based card. They're easy to change later.

i do see they mention they use VRAM (GPU ram) but i would love to see some proof and benchmarks as example 512mb of GDDR5 will be faster BY FAR then say 1G of GDDR3 as the core of those low / mid range cards dont have the core power to use that much ram.

I wont deny a well coded application can easily use more VRAM, you may have choosen one that does, but even then the application would still rely on the core speed of the GPU and memory speeds, so a faster core speed and faster ram would still be better then just larger ram amount on an underpowered GPU, i can safely say if a video card is under, as of today... $150, it is not powerful enough to use 1G of ram efficiently.

Your vid card links dont work.

When you're commenting on multiple peoples posts you can use the multiquote button. Hit it for each post you want to quote, then hit "post reply" down the bottom left. You can edit their post so you only quote the applicable part. Most of what you're saying, while quoting me, is about what others have said.

IMHO there's nothing lost by getting more video ram, and there's a potential gain. Additional memory doesn't take processing power, it just gives the video processor more working space. It might even make things a little faster.

BestVisuals wrote in post #11366643
Let me echo a post already here: you don't need a good video card for photo editing. Do not spend money here. The only reason you need a video card other than motherboard video is if your motherboard video doesn't have the resolution you need.

Photoshop is beginning to use the gpu for more and more tasks. For example, Adobe's new Pixel Bender engine relies heavily on the gpu and only newer gpus with large amounts of vRAM can be used with it. Rendering 5Dii files with the Pixel Bender plug-in ramped my NVidia 320M vRAM usage from 0 to 325 mb. If you have to do these things with cpu only, then you're really going to see a performance hit. It's clear that Adobe wants to use the gpu more and more, so while mobo graphics may be fine for most things now, there will be an increase in the demands of gpus in the near future.

I just wanted to thank everyone for your advice. I really apprecate it. I have ordered all my components and look forward to the build. I will let you know how it turns out. FYI - Total cost: $935 (after rebates, but not including monitor).

If your considering a 30 bit monitor now or in future, this might be interesting.


http://www.amd.com …e_10-Bit_FAQ_R5_Final.pdf